Seymour Schwartz, an internationally renowned surgeon who co-wrote an iconic surgical textbook for medical students, has died at the age of 92.
Schwartz, whose medical career had its beginnings at the University of Rochester in 1950, died Friday at his son’s home in St. Louis, Missouri, the university’s communications office announced.
His career spanned six decades and included his co-authorship of Schwartz’s ‘Principles of Surgery,’ which McGraw-Hill first published in 1969. The book has now reached its 11th edition.
The son of Jewish immigrants, Schwartz, grew up in the Bronx and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin in two years. He then earned his medical degree at New York University.
Schwartz launched his career at a time when the world saw its first open heart operation, first kidney transplant and the debut of balloon catheters and cardiac pacemakers to treat cardiovascular disease. His seminal text became the standard for medical students around the world as the field underwent a shift from relying on exploratory surgery to diagnose medical issues, to turning to increasingly widespread X-rays.
“Dr. Schwartz began his career in an era when the most common way to diagnose a surgical problem of any kind was via an operation,” Michael Rotondo, who leads the university’s medical faculty group and serves as vice dean for clinical operations in the school of medicine. “During his 70-year career he drove innovation that literally shaped the field of surgery and the practices of countless surgeons.”
Schwartz - a history buff, rare map collector and accordion player - took a 10-month leave to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and finished his residency at the University of Rochester in 1957.
He served as the university’s chair of surgery from 1987 to 1998 and director of surgical research for 20 years. He retired from the operating room at 72.
The American College of Surgeons named Schwartz an icon of surgery in 2017. He served as president of three national surgical societies, and as editor-in-chief of several surgical journals.
The Democrat & Chronicle reported in 2018 that his mother’s parents were from Poland while his father’s hailed from what is now Belarus.
His wife Ruth, a pioneer in obstetrics and gynecology whom he met in university, died in 1999. He is survived by three sons, grandchildren and his devoted companion Lyn Kayser. The university didn’t provide a cause of death for Schwartz.
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